Dell's stock jumped to $13 to $14 per share on Jan. 14 when the initial reports of a possible buyout emerged. On Tuesday Dell shares were up again, rising 23 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $13.07. Microsoft shares, meanwhile, were down 12 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $27.13.

Mezzanine capital typically refers to a preferred equity that is structured either as a loan or preferred stock if the debt is not repaid within a certain period of time.

Reports about a Dell buyout have centered around Silver Lake, a private equity firm, but it is believed that other financing would be necessary to build the near-$20 billion that it could required to take the company private.

Microsoft has invested in other tech companies in the past, including Facebook and Apple.

Twenty of the publicly held channel companies on our watch list saw the price of their stock increase in the third quarter of 2017 while only six recorded stock price declines. See who was up and who was down in the third quarter of 2017.